


So Take a Chance

by FromFarAway



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drabble, High School Reunion, Implied Past Bullying, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4289853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromFarAway/pseuds/FromFarAway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers attends his high school reunion, confronts past bullies, and learns something new about an old classmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Take a Chance

“You really came all this way to confront all your old high school buddies” Sam asked his best friend incredulously. He wore a name tag that read ‘Guest: My Name is _Sam Wilson, Emotional Support_ ’.

Steve crossed his arms, partially covering his own name tag, which read ‘ _Steve Rogers’_ , and had a picture of a much smaller, thinner man smiling out of it. “Sam, I _had to_ come. I couldn’t let them think I was afraid of them. I spent all those years standing up to them, I’m not ashamed of who I am and they should know that. And I was voted most likely to die in the next five years and they were dead wrong about that.”

“So wanting to show off how strong and successful you are and pick fights that you’re finally able to win had nothing to do with it?”

“Well… that helped.”

“Now that you’ve confronted your top five worst bullies and gave Rumlow a bloody nose out behind the school can we please just eat the food and have a good time and maybe find some of your actual high school friends to hand out with. Please, for me?”

“…I guess. But if some other deadbeat jock wants to try to relive his glory days, I’m not turning down a fight,” Steve warned.

 

* * *

 

 

“So those were really your friends” Sam stated dubiously as they headed slowly back to the front, glancing back at the table they had just left. At it sat several slightly nervous looking people, quietly but amicably chatting and catching up.

“Well, I guess we all just gravitated together” Steve said with a shrug “We were all a bit more nerdy and different, and so we had more in common with each other than with anyone else from this town. I mean, I think they were all a bit surprised about-” Steve gestured to himself, “It’s certainly a far cry from the sickly, angry highschooler I was. We were friends, but they all did have better self-preservation instincts than me. They knew when to scatter and when to hide instead of picking fights with people bigger than them and becoming the openly gay president of the SGA.”

“Well, you haven’t gotten any smarter, but at least you’ve stayed consistent”

“Hey!” Steve said with a laugh, shoving Sam and nearly knocking him into a red-head getting punch.

“So sorry, miss, big lunk doesn’t know his own strength.” He said, shooting a glare at Steve.

The red-head glanced at his name tag, then Steve’s, before a wolfish grin appeared on her face, and she left abruptly.

Sam frowned “Well that was… kinda weird. You don’t know her, do you?”

“I don’t think she went to our school.”

“No man, did you see her name tag. It had guest like mine but in it she wrote ‘ _Winner of Bets_ ’. And she’s standing over there with that guy who looks like he’s planning to assassinate you.”

Steve swung around to look and Sam punched him in the shoulder “Don’t look, Rogers. Before I know it you’ll be picking another fight and I thought we were done for the night.”

Steve frowned “I think that’s James Barnes.”

“Another archenemy?”

“No… I mean, he was a jock, but he mostly just avoided me like he thought nerdy and gay was contagious. He didn’t pick on me, just … went out of his way to avoid me. And sometimes I’d catch him glaring at me, but he never beat me up.”

“Well that might just be about to change”

Steve glanced back to find an irritable brunet bearing down on them with a grinning red head not far behind.

James Barnes stopped in front of them and growled “Are you really” his eyes flicked down to Steve’s name tag “…Steve Rogers.”

Steve straightened up and looked him dead in the eye “Yeah I am, you got a problem with that?”

James glared down at his boots, then back up “I don’t know if you remember me-“

Steve glared back “James Barnes. Yeah I remember you.”

James glanced away, and took a step back “I…”

The red head intervened “Bucky here just wanted to tell you about the big gay crush on you back in the day.”

“Excuse me?” Steve tried to recover from his shock by crossing his arms and glaring down James “Look if this is some kind of practical joke you should know-“

“No!” interrupted James, running a nervous hand through his long hair “I… I did kinda have a thing for you back in high school…”

“I believe your words were ‘a sexual awakening of epic proportions’” the red head claimed with a shit eating grin.

“ _Natasha_ ” James snapped, scowling at the unrepentant red head, before turning back to Steve when she jerked her head in his direction. A blush was slowly blooming on the man’s face as he continued “You should also know that… in addition to the … crush. I may have gotten drunk one weekend and sent you a bouquet of flowers with a note extoling the virtues of your ass…”

Sam finally broke down into laughter as Steve gaped like a fish on dry land.

“I thought that was a-“ Steve flapped a hand awkwardly “a joke or something!”

“Happy?” James snapped at his friend.

“Ecstatic” she purred back.

“But… I… Why _me_??” Steve spluttered out.

“Look Rogers… you were cute back then. You may not have realized it back then but…” James scuffed the ground with one boot “You were a real looker. You were brave and smart – a thousand times better than anyone else from this school. You were artistic – and good at it. You were out and proud and not scared of anything… and back then I was terrified of everything. Coming out. Being myself. But you were fearless. I wish….. but I was too much of a coward.”

They fell quiet, though Steve seemed to be thinking so hard it was almost audible. Finally he squared his shoulders and looked straight at James.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“What?” James said, whipping his head up, and looking startled, for once, instead of scowling.

“Me’n Sam were gonna head out to a waffle house or something. The food here is shit, the punch is cheaply spiked, and I’ve picked all the fights I’m going to tonight.” He smiled at James “You and Natasha are welcome to come with us.”

“We’d love to.”


End file.
